The paperwork nobody tells you about after someone dies
When someone close to you dies, you expect grief. You expect sadness, memories, maybe even a few practical tasks. But what catches many people off guard is the sheer amount of paperwork that quietly follows — sometimes for months.
Some of it you might expect — like dealing with banks or arranging the funeral — but there’s a whole collection of other admin jobs that no one really warns you about. The kind that quietly appear just as you’re trying to find your feet.
Here are some of the common ones that people often don’t see coming:
Subscriptions, memberships, and automatic payments
From streaming services and gym memberships to magazine subscriptions and charity donations — many of these keep ticking away after someone dies. They often only come to light when a statement arrives or when you notice an unexpected email.
Each one needs to be identified and cancelled, often requiring some paperwork to prove you’re authorised to handle things.
Utilities and household services
Electricity, gas, water, internet, mobile phones, home security systems — every provider has their own process for closing or transferring accounts. Some will be helpful and efficient. Others… less so.
If the person owned property, some services may need to continue during the estate process (for example, to keep a house heated or insured while it's unoccupied), which adds a few extra steps.
Insurance policies
It’s not just life insurance. There may be:
Health or medical insurance
Home or property insurance
Auto or vehicle policies
Travel insurance
Pet insurance
Each needs to be reviewed, updated, cancelled, or claimed against — and often with different requirements depending on the insurer.
Tax matters
Tax authorities in every country have their own processes for finalising someone’s affairs. That might involve:
Filing a final income tax return
Paying any outstanding taxes
Claiming tax refunds
Handling taxes on investment income, pensions, or rental properties
If the person owned a business or had complex finances, this can take some time — and often requires gathering quite a lot of information first.
Employment or retirement benefits
Whether the person was still working or retired, you may need to deal with:
Final paychecks or unused vacation payments
Pensions or superannuation accounts
Company-provided life insurance
Retirement accounts or benefits
Some employers or pension funds have helpful processes. Others may need a few nudges to get things moving.
Digital accounts and online life
Most people now leave behind dozens (sometimes hundreds) of online accounts:
Email accounts
Cloud storage (photos, documents)
Social media profiles
Subscription services
Online banking or investment apps
Each platform has its own rules about who can access or close an account after death — and what paperwork they’ll need.
The smaller (but still important) things
There are many smaller tasks too — and they add up:
Vehicle registrations
Driver’s licences
ID cards and passports
Voter registrations
Store loyalty accounts or points programs
Club memberships
Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
Professional licences or memberships
Some of these won’t be urgent. Others might quietly sit there until you stumble across them.
All while grieving
And of course, all of this happens while you're still trying to process your own loss. That’s one of the reasons why paperwork after a death feels so overwhelming — it’s not that any one task is impossible, but they come at you all at once, while you’re emotionally exhausted.
This is exactly why I created the After Death Spreadsheet — to give people a simple way to stay organized and keep track of all these scattered pieces, without having to carry them around in your head.
If you’re dealing with this now:
Take it one step at a time.
Keep a simple list of what you’ve done and what still needs attention.
Ask for help if you can.
And remember: it does slowly get done.
